History
Lauren started The Ralph Lauren Corporation in 1967 with men's neckties. At 28 years old, he worked for the tie manufacturer Beau Brummell. Lauren persuaded the company's president to let him start his own line. Drawing on his interests in sports, Lauren named his first full line of menswear "Polo" in 1968. He worked out of a single "drawer" from a showroom in the Empire State Building, and made deliveries to stores himself. [5]
By 1969, the Manhattan department store Bloomingdale's sold Lauren's men line exclusively. It was the first time that Bloomingdale's had given a designer his own in-store shop. In 1971, Ralph Lauren Corporation launched a line of tailored shirts for women, introducing the Polo player emblem on the shirt cuff. The first full women's collection was launched the following year. [6]
The year 1972 marked the opening of Ralph Lauren's store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California, his first freestanding store. [7] In 1972, Lauren released a short-sleeve cotton shirt in 24 colors. This design, emblazoned with the company's famed logo based on polo player Bennie Gutierrez, [8] became the brand's signature look. In 1977 Ralph Lauren Corporation introduced a signature cotton mesh polo shirt in various colours, featuring the polo player logo on the chest.
In 1974, Ralph Lauren outfitted the male cast of The Great Gatsby in costumes chosen from his Polo line – a 1920s-style series of men's suits and sweaters, except for the pink suit which Lauren designed especially for Robert Redford's Jay Gatsby . In 1977, Diane Keaton and Woody Allen wore Lauren's clothes in the Oscar-winning film, Annie Hall . [9]
In 1978, the first Ralph Lauren fragrances, produced by Warner-Lauren, Ltd were launched at Bloomingdale's. Lauren for women, and Polo the men's cologne. This was the first time that a designer introduced two fragrances – one for men and one for women – simultaneously. [6]
The company went international in 1981 with the opening of a store in New Bond Street in the West End of London, England. Lauren opened his first flagship in the Rhinelander mansion on Madison Avenue and 72nd Street in New York City in 1986. [10] On June 12, 1997, the company became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. [11]
The 98-seat restaurant, RL, opened in March 1999 in Chicago adjacent to its largest and world flagship Ralph Lauren store at the corner of Chicago Avenue on the Magnificent Mile. [12] It was followed by the opening of two additional restaurants – Ralph's at 173 Boulevard Saint-Germain Paris store in 2010 and The Polo Bar at Polo's store in New York in 2015. [13] The company owned Club Monaco from 1999 to 2021.
The company launched its website and online shop in 2000 as polo.com by RL Media (a cooperation between Ralph Lauren and NBC). In 2007, Ralph Lauren Corporation acquired the NBC share of RL Media and the website was relaunched as ralphlauren.com. In September 2015, it was announced that Stefan Larsson would replace the company's founder, Ralph Lauren, as CEO in November. Lauren stayed on as executive chairman and chief creative officer. [14] [15] In February 2017, it was announced that Larsson had agreed to leave his position as CEO effective May 1, 2017 due to differences with Lauren. [16] On May 17, 2017, Ralph Lauren named Patrice Louvet President and chief executive officer. [17] Louvet most recently was group president, Global Beauty at Procter & Gamble (P&G). [18] He took over on July 17, 2017. [19] [20] [21]
In October 2020, Ralph Lauren Corporation announced that it would transition its Chaps brand to a fully licensed business model to focus on its core brands, reduce its direct exposure to the North American department store channel, and setting up the Chaps brand to be nurtured with an experienced partner. [22] Also in October, Ralph Lauren Corporation has appointed former Obama administration consultant Valerie Jarrett to the board of directors. [23] [24]
In May 2021, Ralph Lauren Corporation announced it would sell its Club Monaco brand after first purchasing it in 1999, to private equity firm Regent LP. [25]
In December 2023, Ralph Lauren announced a partnership with Haworth Lifestyle Design to expand its Home brand starting April 2024. Haworth Lifestyle Design will also launch standalone Ralph Lauren Home stores. [26]
In December 2023, Ralph Lauren launched an artist in residence program for artisans to work with their design teams in a creative partnership. The first artist collaboration is with the indigenous artist Naomi Glasses, a Navajo 7th-generation weaver. [27]
USTA
In 2005, The United States Tennis Association selected Ralph Lauren Corporation as the official apparel sponsor for the U.S. Open. As part of the partnership, all on-court ball persons and officials were dressed in specially designed Ralph Lauren apparel. This was Polo's first tennis sponsorship. [62]
Wimbledon
In 2006, Ralph Lauren Corporation became the official outfitter of Wimbledon. Lauren is the first designer in the tennis tournament's history to be chosen to create uniforms for all on-court officials. [63] [64]
Australian Open
In 2020, Ralph Lauren Corporation became the official outfitter of the Australian Open. [65]
U.S. Olympic Team
Ralph Lauren Corporation is the exclusive Official Parade Outfitter for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, with the right to manufacture, distribute, advertise, promote, and sell products in the U.S. and in other countries which replicate the Parade Outfits and associated leisure wear. The company has established a partnership with athletes as brand ambassadors and the faces of advertising, marketing, and public relations campaigns. [66] [67]
Ralph Lauren Corporation partnered with the United States Olympic Committee to become an Official Outfitter of the U.S. Olympic Team, for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, 2012 Summer Olympics in London, 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. [68]
Ralph Lauren designs the official Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony parade outfits for the U.S. teams in addition to an assortment of village-wear apparel and accessories. [69]
Previously, the corporation received negative press when it was found to have sourced the clothing it supplied to the 2012 athletes from China, [70] so it vowed to source everything it produced for the 2014 Olympics from the US. Kraemer Textiles Inc. spun around 6,000 pounds [71] [72] of Merino wool yarn from Imperial Stock Ranch in Oregon, which was then sent to Longview Yarns in North Carolina to be dyed. The clothing assembly was completed by Ball of Cotton in California. Ultimately, 40 American vendors were involved with production. [73]
Controversies
Racial discrimination tribunal in the UK
In 2023, a former Ralph Lauren employee at the Sloane Square store in London won an employment tribunal case against the company for racial discrimination. The tribunal found that the store manager made racially insensitive remarks referring to the employee's mixed heritage, including calling her "the United Nations" and "the United Colors of Benetton." The tribunal ruled the remarks were offensive and awarded the employee compensation. [74]
Criticism of sustainability and labor practices
Ralph Lauren has received low scores from watchdogs monitoring environmental sustainability and labor ethics. The brand was rated "Not Good Enough" by the platform Good On You, citing lack of evidence of fair wages, sustainable materials, or labor certifications. In the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index, the company scored 51–60%, reflecting moderate but limited disclosure in key areas such as supply chain traceability and environmental impact. [75] [76]
"Horse Shirt" lawsuit
Polo Ralph Lauren, Ltd. sued Mad Dog Productions in late 1983 [77] for its production and sale of the "Horse Shirt" [78] – a take-off on the Polo shirt which "show[ed] the rider being dragged behind the horse." [79] [77] The lawsuit was settled out of court in 1984 [78] with Mad Dog Productions agreeing to stop selling the parody shirt by the end of the year. [80] Ultimately, Mad Dog Productions sold 20,000 Horse Shirts at $14.45 each, [78] for a total of $289,000 in gross revenue.
South African Polo trademark issues
The Polo brand sold in South Africa is not affiliated with the Ralph Lauren brand. An independent South African company trademarked the Polo name and logo in South Africa. [82] [83]
Filippa Hamilton photo controversy
In 2009, Ralph Lauren apologized for digitally retouching a photograph of model Filippa Hamilton to make her look thinner. [84] Hamilton also claims that she was fired by the company a few days later. [85]
Accusations of intellectual property violation by Cowichan Tribes
After branding the sale of sweaters online as "Cowichan", it was reported that Cowichan Tribes would take "steps to communicate with Ralph Lauren and ensure that our product and name is protected". [86] Ralph Lauren later dropped the name from its products. [87]
Howard Smith
In March 2022, Howard Smith, Ralph Lauren Corp.'s chief commercial officer, resigned after a board investigation found that his actions had breached the company's code of conduct. The apparel said it "learned of concerns about Mr. Smith's personal behavior recently", and the board of directors' audit committee initiated an independent investigation with the help of outside counsel. The firm didn't go into detail about the claims but said the inquiry found that Smith's actions broke the company's code of conduct and ethics and that his resignation was required. [88]
US$6.63 billion (2024) [1] 
US$6.60 billion (2024) [1] 
